Texas gets near-failing grade for corruption risk

Texas got a D+ rating, but still managed to come ahead of 23 other states.(iwatchnews.org)

Looks like the Wild West is still alive in Texas.

Texas has been given a D+ in corruption risk as part of a State Integrity Investigation project, making it the 27th least corrupt state in the nation.

The project is collaboration between the Center for Public Integrity, Public Radio International, and Global Integrity.

The report card was an average of scores from 14 different areas including judicial accountability, state budget process and redistricting. About 500 questions were used in the process of determining the rankings. Texas received an A (99 percent) in internal auditing and two B- grades in state pension fund management and procurement.

The worst categories on the report card all earned an F: public access to information, executive accountability, state civil service management, state insurance commissions, state budget processes and redistricting.

None of the states scored above a B+, and that grade was given to only one state – New Jersey. Georgia received the lowest score, F, with a 49 percent.

Craig McDonald, the director of Texans for Public Justice, said he was not surprised to see Texas had come close to failing – if anything he was surprised to see a plus-sign after the D.

“We were closer to flunking the survey than we might think,” McDonald said, noting that the judicial accountability score might have been lower than the C grade Texas received if it was taken into account that Texas judges are allowed to take campaign contributions from lawyers and other special interest groups.

“If that had been a requirement, I think we would have flunked,” McDonald said. “Apparently we’re so unique it wasn’t on the table.”

But of all the scores, McDonald believes that the most detrimental grade is the D- Texas received in political financing.

“We are one of the few states that have no limits on what a lobbyist can give, what a PAC or individual can give – that really pulls down our score and results in Texas being run like it’s an oligarchy,” McDonald said. “If we reform that dramatically, we might not rank so low on other health and human service indicators.”

Governor Rick Perry’s office released a statement on the remark, noting that Texas was recently ranked first in transparency of government spending by the United States Public Interest Research Group. Perry himself has made his personal finances public for the last two decades.

“Gov. Perry believes that in order to keep government accountable, Texans need to be able to track how and where their hard-earned dollars are spent, and he is committed to keeping government spending in check,” according to a statement from Perry’s office.

Rep. Gene Green, a Houston Democrat, said there were some differences in the regulations for transparency and the ones for accountability. But he couldn’t say whether the grade was deserved or not.

“The Texas government didn’t fare as badly as others,” he said. “But I’ll let the voters in Texas judge whether they believe we deserve a D+.”